Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Review: Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

For Cricket Thompson, a
summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket
with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton
family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan
hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When
Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls
apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever
really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her
caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to
support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things
Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who
should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an
exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within
her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does,
her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

Nantucket Blue was more than I was expecting.I looked at that amazing cover and thought:
light summer read, fun and flirty romance, lazy days at the beach.Sign me up! This was more.It was a story about defining your identity, best
friends, family, loss, and first loves.

Cricket Thompson has been best friends with Jules since
eighth grade. Cricket loves Jules and her family almost in a hero worship sort
of way.So when tragedy strikes Jules’
family, Cricket wants to be there with her, comforting and consoling her.Cricket’s plan of spending the summer with
Jules in their vacation home in Nantucket is upset by this tragedy, but Cricket
doesn’t give up.The thought of spending
the summer home alone with her mother, and away from Jules is more than she can
take, so she makes her own way out there, taking a job as a chamber maid to do
so.

This summer is shaping up to be completely different from
what Cricket expected, because Jules is less than thrilled with Cricket’s
appearance.Lonely from Jules’ rejection,
Cricket finds solace in Jules’ younger brother, Zack, spending more and more
time with him.Their mutual attraction
leaves Cricket breathless and excited unlike any other boy before, but it also
stirs up feelings of guilt over what Jules would think.Cricket is sure she would disapprove.

I didn’t expect to love this story as much as I did.I connected with Cricket right off the bat so
her journey felt completely personal to me.I was so ticked off with Jules’ treatment of Cricket, I COULDN’T STAND
HER!!I don’t care if she suffered loss,
I don’t think that gave her license to be such a colossal witch!! But at the same time I’m almost glad that Jules
treated Cricket the way she did.This
forced her to wake up and realize she held value and merit all on her own,
without Jules.She made new friends, spent
time alone with Zack, got insight on her mother, and landed an internship; all
things that probably wouldn’t have happened had she stayed friends with Jules.I do think Jules got off pretty lightly, but
I don’t think things would’ve ever been the same between those two, even if
Jules was more repentant.Sometimes it’s
better to cut your losses and move on.

Now onto the romance!Cricket crushes on one boy in the beginning, but things in life never go
according to plan.Zack is someone
Cricket knows really well, but the attraction when it clicked took her by
surprise. It’s not something she would’ve
chosen, because he’s younger than her, but this worked!! I loved it when she’d realized that Zack was
flirting with her or when he sent her heart racing just by looking at him!The romance left me warm and zinging
along.Just lovely! *sigh*

The boat drifted and his hands did, too,
back to my legs, up my arms and neck. We kissed. We drifted and kissed and
drifted and kissed as the sky flashed and clapped and bloomed and broke.*

There was a little bit of an unfolding mystery with Cricket’s
mother’s past.Discovering that her
mother was an actual teenager with desires and thoughts much like hers had
Cricket cringing and yet captivated at the same time.It had me cracking up! I have to give a “thumbs
down” to Cricket’s father.Some definite
groveling is in order, and I certainly don’t think Cricket owes any apology to
him!

I’m impressed with Leila Howard’s debut novel!Her prose was beautiful and touching without
being overly flowery.Her characters
felt real and relatable, and I could almost taste the salt air of Nantucket, right
along with Cricket, from her descriptions.I’ll definitely be on the watch for her next novel!

*Quotes taken from an uncorrected proof and may change in
the final copy.

20 comments:

Oh I so love it when a book surprises me like this. I expect it to be light and sweet read but then it turns out to be much more. I cry my heard out for it. I think I'll add this to my summer to-read list! Great review Rachel :)

Oh, a younger love interest? I didn't gather that from the other reviews I have seen for this one. I love it when I can be taken aback by a more emotional story than I went in for at the beginning. And it's a debut? Oh, wow! I've seen about 3-4 4 star reviews now and that's pretty good for a debut novelist. Lovely review, Rachel!

This one has been on my radar for a while just for the cover alone. Now there are so many positive reviews coming out for it and I am really kicking myself for having not requested it when it was on NG. I love the sound of Cricket and I think I would appreciate hating Jules for how she treats her. Also, a little forbidden romance with the younger sibling? Yes, Please! Great review, Rachel!

I've been all should I/shouldn't I over this book since I first heard about it but after reading your review I'm adding it to the wishlist! This sounds like a perfect summer read with a little something extra. Thank for the review! :)

I also liked this one more than I expected. I guess if Jules never did what she did to reject Cricket, Cricket would never find the courage to stand on her own. I loved the chemistry between Zack and Cricket. Great review, Rachel!

Awesome review Rachel! I love books with beautiful beach descriptions! This is sounds like a terrific book, from a relatable main character and profound reflection on lost freindship and a family mystery. I am intriqued.

You know, I have had a copy of this book for awhile and somehow couldn't get into it--maybe I was just cranky pants! I'm really glad you enjoyed it though, Rachel, I love summery reads that turn out to have more substance.

Thanks for the review, Rachel! Sometimes I think it's a bummer when these type of books get such a sweet looking cover or summary but turn out to have all this emotional depth. It could upset some people, I mean...not that I'd mind! I love books with focus on characters and things that deal with tough topics, etc. But it's just something I've thought about. haha Glad you enjoyed the novel!!

Oh, Chamber maid doesn't sound that appealing, but I've already added this book to my summer list and I'm so glad that you loved it too, Rachel! Plus, Zack sounds so dreamy and I like that he's younger than Cricket.

Okay...WHAT IS THIS?! The day I decide to trade my copy of Nantucket Blue because I didn't see when I would get around to reading it is the SAME day where I see yours and another blogger's amazing reviews on it. It all sounds great...although I do feel a bit glad at escaping Jules ;)

Somehow this book didn't work for me. I had to put it away, maybe I'll read it another time. I couldn't connect with the main character and her need to follow around her friends even when she was uninvited *sigh* But I am happy to see that many people loved this story.